Three Named Truman Scholars

Three Harvard undergraduates were named winners of the Truman Scholarship last week, a merit award which grants $30,000 to juniors and seniors who intend to pursue a career in the public sector.

Two of the award recipients, William W. Burke-White '98 and Geoffrey C. Rapp '98 are Leverett House residents. The third winner, Brian R. Blais '97, lives in Lowell House.

"They're really, really wonderful people, and it's a great thing they were all able to win," said Paul A. Bohlmann, director of Fellowships at the Office of Career Services.

The scholarship can be applied toward a recipient's senior year and up to three years of graduate school.

According to Bohlmann, a special faculty committee nominated six women and five men from about 60 undergraduate applicants.

Last year, Harvard and Radcliffe each produced one winner.

"It's unusual that no one from Radcliffe won this year," Bohlmann said.

This year's recipients said they were elated at their awards.

"I was excited to find out on Friday," said Burke-White, a history and literature concentrator.

Fluent in Russian, Burke-White spent last summer in Minsk, Belarus as a political analyst in the U.S. Embassy.

"It gave me a chance to speak a little more Russian and to get to know that part of the world better," said Burke-White.

At Harvard, Burke-White has worked with several government simulation programs, including Harvard Model Congress, Model Congress Europe and the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations.

He said he plans to get degrees in international law and international relations and hopes to work with crisis management.

"I'd like to be involved in diplomacy and international relations, working to bring together people who are for whatever reason in conflict, helping people to understand one another and building bridges between people," he said.

Rapp, a lifelong resident of Oahu, Hawaii, said he was also extremely pleased with the news.

In his application Rapp discussed multilingualism in the Hawaiian education system.

He also listed Hawaiian Senator Daniel Inouye, former President John Quincy Adams, class of 1788, and a beautified Hawaiian missionary of the 19th century--the Blessed Damian--as people whose leadership style he admired.

"[Father Damian was] willing to sacrifice everything for the benefit of those less fortunate," Rapp said.

Rapp said he learned a lot from his mother, a single parent who returned to school after her divorce and became a college professor.

He is currently pursing a teaching certificate through Harvard's Undergraduate Teacher Education Program and hopes to teach in Hawaii for two years before going to graduate school for a doctorate in education.

The Chair of the Institute of Politics' Student Advisory Committee, Rapp is also on the executive committee of Holoimua o Hawaii, the Hawaii Club of Harvard.

Blais said he believes geography was a factor in his award.

"I'm pretty excited," Blais said. "It was something I applied for on a whim at the beginning of the year, being a senior and all, but there was a vacancy in my state I never expected it would come this far."

Because Rhode Island did not have a Truman Scholar last year, Blais said, the national selection committee allowed state residents who were seniors to apply as well as juniors.

An economics concentrator, Blais finished his thesis--an analysis of the effect of credit cards on consumption--at 10 p.m., the day before his Truman finalist interview; he got two hours of sleep the night before his interview.

Blais said that he discussed his desire to enter public service during most of the interview.

"It's a good way to make the world a little better for non-Harvard types," he said. "It's one simple way to make the world better for average individuals."

Blais wrote his application policy memo on the problem of low-income housing.

He hopes to get joint masters degrees in economics and public administration, but plans to work at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker for two years before graduate school.

A veteran Undergraduate Council member and former council vice president, Blais said he would like to run for elective office, most likely in his hometown of Woonsocket or elsewhere in Rhode Island.

"I'll probably run for local office, maybe mayor or state senate," he said. "Maybe with time I'll run for bigger things.

He is currently pursing a teaching certificate through Harvard's Undergraduate Teacher Education Program and hopes to teach in Hawaii for two years before going to graduate school for a doctorate in education.

The Chair of the Institute of Politics' Student Advisory Committee, Rapp is also on the executive committee of Holoimua o Hawaii, the Hawaii Club of Harvard.

Blais said he believes geography was a factor in his award.

"I'm pretty excited," Blais said. "It was something I applied for on a whim at the beginning of the year, being a senior and all, but there was a vacancy in my state I never expected it would come this far."

Because Rhode Island did not have a Truman Scholar last year, Blais said, the national selection committee allowed state residents who were seniors to apply as well as juniors.

An economics concentrator, Blais finished his thesis--an analysis of the effect of credit cards on consumption--at 10 p.m., the day before his Truman finalist interview; he got two hours of sleep the night before his interview.

Blais said that he discussed his desire to enter public service during most of the interview.

"It's a good way to make the world a little better for non-Harvard types," he said. "It's one simple way to make the world better for average individuals."

Blais wrote his application policy memo on the problem of low-income housing.

He hopes to get joint masters degrees in economics and public administration, but plans to work at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker for two years before graduate school.

A veteran Undergraduate Council member and former council vice president, Blais said he would like to run for elective office, most likely in his hometown of Woonsocket or elsewhere in Rhode Island.

"I'll probably run for local office, maybe mayor or state senate," he said. "Maybe with time I'll run for bigger things.